Brands, Trademarks and Logos
A common question is what is the difference between a trademark and copyright? Is my logo trademarkable or copyrightable? If you want to protect your brand’s logo, it’s important to understand the difference.
Firstly, a logo is subject to copyright if it is more than just text – if it contains some graphical/artistic elements, something that has been designed. The logo will be copyrighted as an artistic work, and will be subject to copyright law. A trademark, by comparison, is symbol, word, or words legally registered or established by use as representing a company or product. Legally, the Trade Marks Act 1994 governs what is and is not a trademark, and it states that a trademark is:
- “any sign capable of being represented graphically which is capable of distinguishing goods or services of one undertaking from those of other undertakings.”In essence, what this means is that trademarks exist for commercial purposes, whilst copyrights apply to other purposes too.
How do I get a trademark in the UK?
- You need to contact the UKIPO (UK Intellectual Property Office), and submit an application to them.
Why should I get Sterling Law to help me?
- Unsurprisingly, trademark law can be difficult to navigate. Even large corporations sometimes fail to successfully register their trademarks. Harley-Davidson attempted to trademark the distinct sound of their motorcycles, but their request was denied, as was Twitter’s attempt to trademark the word “tweet”, and Subway’s attempt to trademark “footlong”.
- Sterling Law can provide important time-saving help at the first step, telling if you if your trademark aim is viable or not, and explaining what adjustments should be made if needed.
- We will provide crucial help in filing the application, making the best case to the UKIPO for why, during their review process, they should accept the trademark request.
We value your time. After the consultation, we will let you know what the next steps are. We will request the documents we need, and only call you when necessary. We are proactive, will update you on your case as soon as we have any news so that you don’t need to call, meaning you can rest assured that no actions are needed from your side.
We haven’t forgotten about you, but we believe you’d rather spend time doing something that really matters than on the phone with a lawyer.
